Dental Day

Well, the dentists (a two doctor team) came to town, and Meadowbrook was the place to be!  We had several horses haul in, including two that came down from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and I fetched Paco over from Gesa's as well.

The crowd of horse owners, one tag-a-long husband, and two pre-vet students congregate outside the dental rig.

It was a whole day affair, but my only "victim" was Cricket this year.  He is nearing the end of his dental care career, however, as most of his teeth are worn to the point of being minimally useful for munching anymore.  I figured this was the case, but I wanted to be sure that none of those almost-expired teeth were loose or infected or otherwise needing attention.  There is not much to be done when a horse uses up his teeth, other than feed him lots of healthy food that doesn't require much chewing.  So, his summer diet of lots of green grass is perfect, but winter will be tougher this year than last.  He will continue to eat beet pulp, senior feed, and alfalfa pellets, and I will likely add in a fat source for extra calories.  He eats hay, and actually doesn't drop, or "quid," at all that I'm able to tell, but at this point he's probably not masticating the hay effectively enough to extract all the nutrients & calories out of it that he could.  And, he packs hay/grass into the spaces between his old teeth ("diastema"), which so far isn't a problem but can lead to infected gums and/or teeth, so I'll need to watch carefully for any changes in his eating behavior or a putrid odor emanating from his mouth.

I hate to say it on a steamy late July day, but it is already time to start thinking about winter, at least for Cricket.  Now is the time to get some extra weight on him if I can - he is too thin for my taste already with his ribs slightly visible, BCS 3/9.  These few weeks of awful heat and humidity that we've had, plus the record hordes of flies & other nasty biting insects, have really taken a toll and I've seen some weight drop off many of the horses this month.  Every afternoon that the horses spend in the barn to escape the unrelenting sun, heat, and bugs, I put extra food in front of Cricket and so far he's doing a good job of eating most of it.

Unless a problem arises requiring more dental work, such as pulling an infected tooth, this will be Cricket's final dental "maintenance."  I didn't get any pictures of Cricket's session, but here's one of Paco getting "tuned up."

Dr. Bowman works on Paco.

My zoom is broken, but this is Paco, Rhio, & Cricket hanging out like best buddies.  Cricket & Paco had never met, and they sniffed noses for a long time as if saying "Hey, I've heard all about you from Rhio!", "Yeah, me too!", "Let's go graze."  The introduction was a complete non-event. 

Killian supervising the goings-on with an expert eye.

Pasture Paradise

Rhio in his ugly-but-UV-protective fly mask, coming when he's called despite the acres of lush green grass he's turned out on! 

Next to the horse pastures is a huge field that has been completely untouched this spring.  It is normally the cow pasture, but there are no cows this year.  It is fenced with 5 strands of barbed wire, so it's not ideal for horses.  But, all that beautiful grass is going to waste just sitting there while our horses are still eating hay... so yesterday we began the "Pasture Paradise" program here at Meadowbrook.

My two, Rhio & Cricket, can both use the grass, as well as two other boarders, Levi & Quick.  These four horses get hand-walked over to the cow pasture in the mornings to stuff themselves in the knee-deep green goodness all day long.  This leaves 2 fields with 1 horse each, so those 2 horses get to spend the day together for company.  Then, at the end of the day, everyone is put back into their original fields for the night (with shelter and safe fencing).  These four are now getting a pittance of grain in the mornings, and no feed at night except some hay.

Cricket ready to "go home" at the end of the day

Day one, yesterday, went pretty well, considering.  I had an internal debate regarding my level of comfort with the barbed wire fencing, after walking the fenceline the evening before (in shorts, and without bug spray!  not my most brilliant move, I must admit).  The fence is intact and in reasonable repair, but it is not perfect.  The lushness of the grass and the vastness of the pasture, however, give me some assurance that the boys will have absolutely  no reason to even go near the fence.  I decided my desire for them to be on good grass far outweighed my concern over the fence, and so I was pleased to watch them behave beautifully all day yesterday and to find them without even a scratch in the evening.

Quick (grey) & Levi also enjoyed the day on grass

The other element which could have been an issue was horse dynamics.  Rhio & Cricket are buddies, and Levi & Quick are buddies, but the two pairs do not know each other at all.  Quick can play pretty rough at times, and is a bit of an "enforcer" in his pasture.  I expected that Rhio would protect Cricket, and that is exactly what happened.  Rhio & Cricket were turned out first, took a bit of a run about, then settled to munching.  Levi was next, and walking him past the goat/alpaca pen was a big challenge.  We made it to the gate, and I turned him out, causing quite the stir across the farm.  Winston & Tomas were on alert, watching intently from the furthest pasture, while Quick & Duke were trotting the fenceline and whinnying for their missing companion.  Rhio & Cricket came over to investigate Levi, and they all trotted off together for a bit, then Levi made a beeline for the fenceline nearest his buddies in the other pasture, and Rhio & Cricket resumed eating.  Quick, while also afraid of the goats & alpacas, was very motivated to join his buddy and galloped off as soon as I released him.  Now for the scary part!  How were the two groups going to interact, and was anyone going to get hurt?  (And, why didn't I bring my camera at least, or a video camera, which would have been even better?)

As you might expect, the four horses ran around for a while, with the two greys (Rhio & Quick) herding their two buddies around, and keeping them away from the others.  In very little time, each pair seemed to have a declared "territory" and they all settled down to the knee-high buffet.  Throughout the day, Quick & Levi remained together along the fenceline closest to their regular pasture and in the front corner, which Rhio & Cricket also remained together and wandered about the middle and back of the pasture, evidently enjoying the wooded area as well.  There were zero altercations, and almost no interaction after the initial brief period.  All the other horses on the farm are now in pairs as well; I find the symmetry of the pairs of horses very pleasing, somehow.

In the evening, Rhio & Cricket came running when they were called (good boys!), while Levi & Quick refused to walk along the fence near the goats & alpacas to the gate, so had to be fetched.  I expect in a few days they'll be completely unconcerned about the scary ruminants and will also (hopefully) come when they are called.  Replete with fresh green grass, none of the four minded missing their usual grain supper at all.  They did all drink immediately, however, which means they probably didn't use the nice, clean tank I'd scrubbed & filled for them in Pasture Paradise, despite the fact that I led each one to the tank to show it to them before turning them loose in the morning.  The grass is plenty wet on its own, and I assume they'll start using the tank as they get used to the whole plan.

Operation Pasture Paradise was a resounding success!

And what a beautiful evening! 

Oops!

Maybe I shouldn't reveal my most recent air-headedness, but here goes.  Last night I was feeding horses a little later than usual, and let Cricket out into the mostly-enclosed area behind the barn to graze while I was setting up the morning feed.  I got set-up done, closed up the front barn door, and went inside.  Yup.  Left Cricket out - all night!

I didn't even realize I'd done it until I was feeding this morning and went to grab his halter from the rack so I could bring him in for his beet pulp/senior mash.  I stared dumbly at the empty hook for a moment before realizing why his halter wasn't there - because he was still wearing it, and I'd never put him back in the pasture last night!  Oops!!!!!

I hustle out back and glance around - no Cricket to be seen.  He clearly hung around the fence for a bit (2 piles of manure), wandered into the front section of the shelter (hoof prints), enjoyed some hay that was left out (now scattered about), and was now off somewhere.  Annie & Mo were looking toward the back woods, and the only direction he could have gone was to follow the alley between the fencelines that direction.  Sure enough, the wet grass revealed hoof impressions, and just over the rise where his pasture fence turns, there he was merrily munching the lush grass.  He glanced up at me as if to say, "Mmm! Grass!" and was happy to follow me back to the barn for breakfast.

Of all the horses to be left out all night, he was probably the perfect one to "choose."  Luckily we've had tons of rain and the grass was lush & wet, as he didn't have any access to water.  He's been free grazing about an hour a day since the grass really came in, so he's even used to its lushness.  And he's really level-headed and not particularly independent, so freaking out or wandering off weren't likely.  And, he's not too much of a trouble maker, so he clearly didn't find snooping around the barn wreaking havoc to be a tantalizing option (I shudder to think what the barn would have looked like had Rhio been left out to his own devices for 12 hours!).  Whew!  Of course I'm knocking myself upside the head for my absentmindedness, but all is well that end's well, right?

Happy Birthday Cricket

Cricket is 29 years young today, and I have had the privilege to have him in my life for the past 6 years.  This horse is worth his weight in gold, so I decided to have a little fun with his birthday photo and show him in the golden light he should always be bathed in.  His treat for the day was a bag of baby carrots all to himself (though he did share just a few with his buddies), and his present is going to be a new rain sheet (which I haven't ordered yet).  

Hanging with his buddies in the sunshine.

What a handsome boy! 

Escape!

So, the dogs got me up to go out & be fed around 6:15 as usual.  Mind you, they don't know it's really 7:15 this morning, and neither do the horses, so I decided I'd stumble through quickly and hop back into bed for a little nap before heading out to feed the horses.  Although I know they'll readjust to our artificial tweaking of the clock, at least for today I can feed an hour late and they won't be banging on gates, convinced they are starving to death.  And, of course, it doesn't mean I actually got an extra hour of sleep (oh, how I wish!), but I can pretend.

In a blurry haze of nearsightedness and muzzy sleepiness,  I thought I saw a horse walking down the driveway when I let the dogs in.  That can't be right...  but, yes, indeed, there is a horse walking towards the road.  Oh, crap!!  I pull my boots on over bare feet, dash outside in my robe, then think better of it, run back inside & upstairs for my glasses and peek out the window at the stairs to confirm that I did see what I thought I saw.  Oh, geez - there's Cricket meandering down the road as if he had a coffee date with an old war buddy.  So dashing back down the stairs, I at least grab a hat & throw a jacket over my robe this time, though my feet are still bare inside my boots, and nab a dog leash off the hook by the door on my way out.

Scanning the fresh snow to count sets of tracks as I go, I do a quick shuffle-walk (there's ice under the snow) down the driveway and pop onto the road.  Cricket is about to the neighbor's driveway at this point, walking steadily along, but sees me behind him and turns around, stops, and waits for me.  Thank goodness my horses are easy to catch!  I can tell that I've only got one horse that's been walking up & down the driveway a couple of times, but that this is the first journey onto the road.  Whew! Visions of trying to chase down a herd of loose horses had been dancing through my head.  Slipping the leash around his neck, we walk back home, with Cricket gently bumping me every 10 steps or so.  He does the head-bump thing when I am asking him to do something he doesn't really want to do, but he complies anyway.

Coming into the barnyard, I scan pastures & do a head count, and in all the pastures I can see, all the residents are accounted for.  This leaves one pasture to tally - Cricket, Rhio, Tomas, & Kaos.  Their pasture is behind the barn and I can't see any of the other three until I walk Cricket through the barn (door was still firmly shut as I left it last night) and back to the gate (also firmly closed).  The three are hanging in a group and turn to look at me and Cricket with great surprise (after all, it's an hour early for food according to their highly accurate internal clocks).  Cricket walks into the pasture with one last head bump, and I release him from the leash.  Unfortunately for him, I hadn't grabbed the barn jacket in my dash outside and therefore didn't have a single horse treat in the pocket for him, so he had to settle for a pat on the neck and loving praise, "You silly old man, what the heck were you doing?"

Returning to the front of the barn, I follow his tracks around and across the snowbank created by the snow which had slid off the barn roof.  The trail includes several piles of poo, indicating that he's probably been wandering for some measure of time, and culminates right at the corner of the run-in shed.  He clearly just walked right up & over the electric fence by stepping up onto the snowbank.  I am so surprised that Cricket did this, not Rhio, and that none of the other horses cared to follow him.  Rhio has a history of getting out (crawling through electric rope or tape fences, which have some "give"), so I would have predicted him to be involved in this escapade.

So much for my little extra sleep this morning!  I'm having a cup of tea & blogging while waiting for my extremities to thaw out enough to suit up properly and go feed horses.  I'll be taking a shovel with me to fix the escape route.

Yellow Goo = Happy Tummy?

Tonight was Cricket's third dose of ulcer medication, and the first time in a couple of weeks that he licked his dinner dish clean!  The definitive "test" for ulcers is endoscopy to actually visualize the stomach lining, which is expensive, not available in the immediate vicinity, and I don't think really warranted in his case (though if I had a super-power, xray vision would be a nice one to have - I'd love to know for sure that I am right!)  So, I am using response to treatment as my diagnostic test for ulcers.  At this point, all the evidence is pointing in the same direction, right at ulcers, so I'm going with that.  He'll be getting this acid-reducing medication twice a day for a while, and I am also planning to start him on an acid-neutralizing supplement in his feed.  He is already eating a small amount of alfalfa, which is good for buffering the stomach acid (lots of calcium in alfalfa - like a natural equine version of Tums), so I'll try to increase that a bit as well.  I think with a little bit of tummy care and seriously reducing his stress by moving pastures, he should come around nicely.  He had ulcers 6 years ago when I bought him, and seemed to recover fully with treatment.  I have seen no sign of them until recently, anyway.  I do feel like a bit of a dolt, though - if someone else had described his set of symptoms in their horse, I would have thought "ulcer" right away, since it was my own horse, however, of course it didn't occur to me until a week after the symptoms started.

And in other news - Rhio gave me his first buck of 2011 today.  Ok, so it was not REALLY a buck, but more a little hop to signal his displeasure.  I wonder why some horses are "buckers" and some are not?  Last fall I met Rhio's breeder, who also did some of his initial training, and he indicated that he remembers Rhio's propensity for bucking.  Great.  We are doing some schooling in the arena, because the entire world seems to be covered in ice right now and there is no where safe to ride outside at all, and Rhio is less than thrilled with it.  We are working on cantering.  We love to canter, and do it a lot on the trail, easily and effortlessly, and always on the left lead.  In an enclosed space, though, we are a train wreck when it comes to cantering.  We don't have a right lead canter at all, and we can't canter in a nice circle (or any circle, really, though we did do a somewhat rounded ameoba shape today!).  I think it might be 90% rider issue and 10% horse issue, though, as I can't canter Red in an enclosed space, either.  I was hoping to use Cricket to work out my rider issues, as he has a marvelous, lovely, wonderful canter and goes nicely on a circle  -- but he's had a hitch in his left hind giddyup since the fall, so I am not asking him for any serious effort until I can get that figured out once warmer weather arrives.  I presume at 29 he has some arthritis acting up.

He's such a good boy about taking his medicine via syringe! He kindly doesn't smear the yellow goo all over me, either.

Trouble in Paradise

My old man Cricket has been with the same pasture group for quite a while now - 2 geldings and a mare.  He is the lowest horse in the pecking order in this group, but things have been peaceful for many months. Cricket gets to eat (not always the prime hay pile, but it's all the same hay anyway,) drink, and move about with the group.  He may have to linger on the fringe of the shelter instead of being snuggled all the way inside it, but I wasn't concerned about him.  He got to come into the barn on the worst of the winter nights, and his weight has been steady all winter.  In the last month or so, he has started being pushed farther out of the shelter and being forced to go the long way around to the farthest hay pile to eat.  The tail flap on his heavyweight blanket was "mysteriously" missing, and there are many tooth marks on the rump of said blanket.  In the last two weeks, he's become a picky eater, leaving a goodly portion of his twice-daily beet pulp-alfalfa pellet-senior mash instead of just leaving the big chunks of beet pulp that he doesn't like (he loves the fine shreds of beet pulp, but has always left the chunks in the bottom of his pan.)  He's also become exceedingly reluctant to go back to the pasture after being in the stall to eat a meal, culminating in a flat-out refusal to move a couple of days ago.  I turned him around to go back to the barn, and he walked just fine.  Turn toward the pasture, and he was planted to the ground.  Ok, ok - I get it!  You've obviously been trying to communicate that you are stressed, and I haven't been paying attention.

[a side note: it is the mare that is harassing him, biting him, chasing him, etc]

That evening, I put him into Rhio's pasture, which also includes 1 other gelding and 1 mare.  Of course there was the usual sniff-squeal-chase stuff as the group was disrupted, but Rhio and Cricket have known each other for many years and lived together most of those years.  The mare and other gelding are very mild in the pasture, and they all settled right down to eating.  The next morning, Cricket and the mare were in the shelter, Rhio was standing in the alleyway, and the other gelding was out in the pasture (normal distribution for this group.)  Ah!  All is well... until I bring Cricket into the barn for breakfast.  He didn't eat a single mouthful as he whirled and screamed in the stall, even banging on the door (this is SO not like him!).  And the mare was calling back to him.  Uh-oh.  Forgot about that!  Old man Cricket l-o-v-e-s the ladies -- at least some of them.

Performing a self-inflicted forehead slap, I realized two things - 1) Cricket has likely developed another gastric ulcer from the stress in the old group - I say "another" because he had ulcers when I first bought him, from living alone for several years, and 2) he gets velcro-attached to mares if they like (or even just tolerate) him and none of the other geldings care.  So am I helping one issue (stress-induced ulcers from being harassed in the other group) but creating another?

What to do???  I much prefer happy horses, and Cricket's not a very happy horse right now.  So far, he's still in the new group and things seem to be calming down a bit.  Tonight, in fact, he's in a stall in the barn due to the wicked east wind, and the mare is still outside.  He's eaten well today, and is perfectly content in the stall tonight with a gelding in each adjoining stall.

All the Naked Horses

Feb 5, 2011
Temp: above freezing!  Man, it's been a cold winter and this is the first thaw we've had so far.

Winter blankets all-in-a-row

This morning while feeding horses, I was so hot & sweaty that I stripped not only my polarfleece hat but my parka as well.  I was outside in a single layer of fleece plus my Carhartts, boots, & gloves.  It was nearly balmy.  If I was comfortable sans hat & jacket, the horses also would be comfortable sans their winter blankets, so I started stripping blankets on nearly everyone as I fed out grain.  Unfortunately, our horses have been pretty much locked into their blankets 24/7 since early to mid-November.  It turns out, I am "anti-blanket," despite the fact that two of my horses regularly wear them.  I don't think blankets are good for their skin, their necks & backs, or their range of motion.  I wish my horses weren't wearing them.  But, Rhio and Cricket have both been in blankets nearly continuously since November.

Cricket in his back-up winter blanket

Cricket is almost 29 (birthday next month!) and has no extra weight to speak of.  He is happy & healthy and grows a respectable winter coat, but without an extra fat layer (his body condition score is a 4 on a scale of 1 - 9) he expends too much energy to stay warm in our harsh winter weather (which we've had more than usual of this winter!) and would lose weight without extra help.  He gets help in two forms: extra calories and a winter blanket.  He also is the lowest ranking member of his herd of 4, and as such is rarely allowed in the shelter (although there is ample room for at least 6 horses in there!).  Cricket has a wardrobe of garments for different weather conditions, including a waterproof but unlined rain sheet for use during wet but warm weather (around 40 and above), a midweight blanket (also waterproof) for use during mild cool temps (his spring & fall jacket), and 2 heavyweight blankets (1 several years old with the accompanying wear & tear as a back-up, and his main blanket which is in its 2nd winter) for winter wear.

Rhio sporting his layers

Rhio is young, healthy, and the "top dog" in his pasture, but this winter he, too, has required a blanket.  I believe this is due to his athletic condition prior to winter starting and to our earlier-than-normal onset of a colder-than-typical winter.  He is also a body condition score of 4 on the 1-9 scale.  He was in top shape at the end of October for our last endurance competition, very lean & fit.  Winter pretty much started immediately after that ride, and he did not have a chance to put on a little insulating layer of fat before the cold set in.  I resisted blanketing him as long as I could; he has a history of abusing blankets severely and wiggling his way out of them unscathed if he doesn't want to be wrapped up & cozy.  In the past, he has only worn a blanket during the most severe winter weather (windchills and/or air temperatures well below zero).  Early this winter, however, I would find him nestled in the shelter while his herd was out eating their hay.  He was choosing shelter over food.  I didn't think that was a good thing, so I gave in and started blanketing him.  I knew he welcomed his "binkie" when he stood still as stone, unhaltered in the pasture, to have it put on.  I was doubly sure he liked it when it was still on and intact the following morning!

Rhio's wardrobe also consists of a waterproof sheet for wet weather, a midweight turnout blanket (all he has worn even in the coldest temperatures in the past), and now a "system" of warmer layers for the cold weather.  He wears an insulated stable blanket for warmth, plus the waterproof sheet over the top for wind & damp protection.  Recently he has developed a rub on his chest from the binding on the stable blanket, so I have also added a base layer of lycra to prevent rubbing.  My "tough" endurance horse looks like a stall baby this year (how embarassing!). But, he is warm & dry and doesn't hide in his shelter anymore.  He still looks as trim & fit as he did in October, so the blanketing is maintaining status quo.

I was thrilled to have the horses go naked today - they & their blankets both had a chance to air out a bit in the 30+ degrees.  They seemed pretty thrilled, too - especially Rhio who spent quite a lot of time cavorting and playing while unencumbered by his outerwear.  I was dismayed, however, to discover Rhio's new hue - purple!  His black lycra chest protector has dyed his white hair purple, so he is now tri-colored with a yellowish-tan head & neck (dirt/manure), purple chest & shoulders (lycra protector), and white barrel & rump (clean & protected by his blanket).  Boy it's a good thing he's not a show pony!  (Will the purple shed out with his winter fur?  Or sweat off in purple streaks running down his legs when we start seriously conditioning this spring? Or will I have to actually bathe my horse with shampoo to restore him to his natural state?)

Yep, that's my tie-dye pony! 

A Pony Adventure

Cricket

After nearly a week of holiday busyness and not having any "me" time, it was time to get out in the woods on my horse. And it was time for the dogs to get out for some serious exercise as well. I decided to take Kelso, Killian, and Cricket with me.  

Getting the boys ready

I know from previous experience that getting myself mounted while holding a second horse can be a bit tricky.  Everyone involved behaved themselves impeccably, and we set off in good order with the dogs leading the way and Cricket ponying along like a good boy.  Rhio is my best pony horse - he doesn't mind the rope touching his flanks, rump, or legs and doesn't get too upset if it gets under his tail, either. And he has always been very gentlemanly to the pony-ee, never giving off the "stay back" vibe that can make one feel much like Gumby while ponying.  He is also easy to control one-handed, leaving my other hand free to deal with the pony-ee's leadrope.  

Setting off - Kelso is the tiny dark speck in the lead. 

We walked through the deep snow out to the hayfield, made a loop around it, and meandered our way back via the back pasture route.  All of us reveled in the sparkling day, sighting a bald eagle in the tall pines and generally just soaking it all in.  The snow was knee-deep on my boys, and the dogs flopped down in the middle of the trail to chew ice balls out of their feet numerous times.  My finger tips were beginning to tingle with cold when we got back to the barn - just the right amount of effort for old man Cricket on his first outing in the snow this winter, and just enough time for me to find my center again. 

Catching our breath out in the hayfield.

Cricket: "Hey, man - thanks for carrying her around so I didn't have to!"
Rhio: "Dude, if you want, we could go again, and RUN this time?!?!" 

What?

I'm upstairs on the computer this morning, and all of sudden the two dogs downstairs start barking crazily.  I walk downstairs to see what's up and find Berlin standing on the couch, barking out the living room window.  I walk over and see....

Cricket dining on the black oil sunflower seeds in the bird feeder

What?  They're tasty and the grass is all covered up with snow!

Hooves

Rhio's right front today after a trim

It's official!  Rhio once again has four normal hooves.  The saga of his right front coronary band injury last January is now completely finished and I'm planning to stop obsessing, worrying, and fretting about his feet...any minute now, really!  

October 20, 2010
It's a normal hoof! 

For a quick review, here's a series of photos showing the healing and progression of his hoof wall defect over the past 9 1/2 months. 

Januray 31, 2010

February 23, 2010
coronary band is nearly back to normal, farrier has relieved any upward pressure by cutting an arc in the ground surface

June 14, 2010
Defect is about 1/2 way down hoof & we're still using the pressure-relieving technique to encourage downward progression without lateral spreading around the hoof

August 1, 2010
The back part already broke off and the front portion is actually loose.

August 1, 2010
After trimming - no more loose section but still not a lot of support on his lateral quarter

September 1, 2010
It almost looks like just a really badly chipped area! 

Rhio & I had a quick limbering session in the arena, bareback, after his trim, then he got to free graze in the yard for a little while.  Tomorrow we're off to Point Chaser!  We're planning to do the 50 on Friday, and if everything goes well, also a 30 mile Limited Distance on Sunday.  I've never ridden more than one day at a ride before, on the same horse, so I am really looking forward to it!  Gesa & Paco will be riding their second LD on Sunday, so we'll have a great time riding together.  

Enjoying the grass

Old man Cricket has been enjoying a lot of yard time lately, trying to gain a little more weight before winter, enjoying the last of the grass.  Also, it is good for his feet, which got "accidentally" trimmed by another farrier and are way too short.  He was booted 24/7 and on Bute for a week just to hobble around.  He is now sound on grass, but still very tender on any harder footing.  Poor Cricket!  And the farrier thinks he did me a "favor" by giving me a free trim (it was his mistake - he didn't realize the bay Arabian gelding wasn't a black Appaloosa mare...).  I am none too pleased, to say the least. 

Cricket checking for treats in my pocket before going back to grazing

Inspiring Sky

Wow - what a gorgeous evening sky we had last night.  I just had to go ride under that glow (the pics don't even come close to what it felt like to be bathed in that light).  

Cricket was out for his evening yard time, and I quickly tacked him up with the bareback pad for a few circuits around the outdoor arena.  He is an amazing ride - so light and responsive I was using mostly seat and a little leg to guide him.  He is so great because anyone can ride him, and he'll give them all a great ride.  But if you know how to ask, he can really perform.  I believe that he was mostly shown in Western Pleasure in his younger years - but I bought him at 23 when he'd been mostly a pasture pet and occasional trail horse for about 8 years.  I'm sure I don't even know what he can do!  I hope he can teach me a thing or two.  

Learning & Teaching

Kevin & I were just finishing up discussing Rhio’s feet (verdict: still have to wait & see what happens with the crack that is obviously developing from his injury – we suspect it will spread horizontally; also I will try to keep it clean & apply a sealant to it) when three barn buddies showed up to ride!  Yeah!  Steph took Cricket, I rode Rhio, and Kathy on Winston and Christine on Tomas rounded out our group.  It was quite windy and we decided a jaunt through the woods might be just the ticket – the trees block a lot of the wind. 

Kathy & Winston (L) and Christine & Tomas on our lap around the field

Steph & Cricket using the bareback pad

I booted Rhio in front (only have 2 functional boots right now – I’m waiting on a “fit kit” from Easy Care to determine what size Easy Boot Gloves to order – they have a trade-in program where you can send in up to 2 boots and order a new style of boot for 50% off, so I’m sending in my old Bares that have the gaitors torn off in favor of moving to their latest model, the Glove) and off we went.  I currently use Easy Boot Epics on the front hooves – this pair is Red’s but actually fit Rhio ok as well.  According to the Easy Care fit charts, Rhio shouldn’t really be successful in their boots – his feet are almost perfectly round & don’t fit their size measurements very well.  But, I have found that he does fine in the Epics on his front hooves.  I haven’t tried hind boots on him in several years, so it will be a learning curve this year.  If worse comes to worse, I can shoe his hinds and boot his fronts.  Kevin & I don’t think we will be able to shoe his fronts because of the hoof crack emerging from his injury.  Rhio doesn’t have much tolerance for rocky going, and since I travel the gravel roads for most of my conditioning miles, he requires some hoof protection.  I’m really excited about trying the Gloves because they are very lightweight, hoof-hugging boots with no hardware.  Most of the reports I’ve read from other endurance riders are extremely favorable about this boot.

 

Rhio modeling the Easy Boot Epics post-ride

Our trail ride was highly successful and granted us several opportunities to teach our horses new things (or, to remind our horses that they could still do these things).  The first challenge was a water crossing through an area that in the summer is swampy & impassable.  Currently, it is a large puddle over frozen ground – so I knew the horses wouldn’t get bogged in it and we could safely school them on water crossings.  Rhio ambled right into the water (I didn’t test it, but it had to be only barely above freezing!) and proceeded across with no difficulty.  He has typically been quite good about water, but I was happy to see that that hasn’t changed.  Winston went next, and required a tiny bit of encouragement, but crossed quite willingly.  Tomas was definitely refusing at this point, but Cricket came across easily (with a look of disgust on his face, I do admit – he didn’t enjoy it, but he did it!) and now he didn’t have much choice unless he wanted to be left behind.  So Tomas made the right choice and crossed the water in a controlled manner.  Good job everyone!  

Cricket showing Tomas the ropes on the water crossing

The rest of the trail ride provided smaller challenges such as ice in deeply shady areas, sucking mud in soggier areas, and a few downed trees to step over.  All the horses get gold stars for their good behavior and willingness to learn new skills!  We even crossed the water with no real hesitation on the way home.  Steph had the “Cricket Grin” that everyone gets when they ride him – and Cricket was puffed up & proud of himself.  Winston was gaiting smoothly and walking out readily.  Tomas only had a few minor incidents of frustration/confusion, but nothing that Christine couldn’t handle.  And Rhio was a good boy – although his challenges were yet to come. First, Rhio & I continued right down the driveway when we got back, even though the other horses were headed back to the barn. He didn’t like that much, but continued on when I asked him and didn’t give me too much guff.  We turned west and headed down the road into the stiff wind.  I dislike riding in the wind because I can’t hear traffic as well and am not as aware of our surroundings.  Luckily, it doesn’t seem to ruffle Rhio much at all.  I zipped my jacket up tight to my chin to keep the chill out, and away we went.  I had my GPS on, and although Rhio gave me a very pokey 5.7mph trot, he was trotting.  Rhio very much prefers to ride with another horse, and to start a ride with his buddies then leave them was really a challenge for him.  He did great!  We continued along the freshly graveled section of Pioneer & Church Roads; he was definitely seeking the softest footing he could.  His hinds were not only bare, but he was freshly trimmed, so the new gravel was not to his liking.  The deer obviously couldn’t hear us coming, because we scared up three of them who ran parallel to us for a while before cutting across a hay field.  Rhio just kept trotting along, looking at them with interest.  I concentrated on changing my posting diagonals, since we were trotting slow enough that I was actually posting.  I really tend to forget to switch diagonals, and at our faster trots I do a two-point “hover” kind of thing instead of posting.  We got to the “minimum maintenance road” portion of Church Road (a favorite spot) and headed down the now-open road, prominently posted “Road Closed in Winter.”  It is closed to vehicles but open to snowmobiles, so we typically run across some interesting things back in there – this time it included a severed deer head lying in the middle of the road.  Yuck!  Rhio was more concerned with the funny-shaped melting snowbanks (looked like fossilized creatures sticking out of the ground to me) than the head, and Kelso trotted right past it.  We turned around at about the 3 mile mark, and Rhio quite happily bumped his trotting speed up into the 7.5mph range (or, as I like to call it, the “going home” trot) and away we went.  He cruised along, tossing his head and eager to head back to the barn.  We stopped along the way to visit with 3 little kids and their mom out playing in their yard.  The little girl is clearly horse crazy, and I love to encourage that – plus leave a good impression on the non-horse folks in the area since I ride on the public roads so much.  Rhio was very amenable to having his nose patted and obligingly lowered it to 4 year old height.  It was school bus time as we were nearing the barn, and 2 went past us very courteously, slowing way down.  Of course, they don’t bother Rhio in the slightest, but I am very appreciative nonetheless.  At the driveway, I fetched the mail from Rhio’s back (a first – took a couple attempts to get him close enough that I could reach, but only because he REALLY wanted to go down the driveway) and then hopped off at the wide wooden stairs leading to the farmhouse.  I am not sure why, but I got it in my head that I was going to teach him to walk up and down those steps.  He was having none of it, and kept staring off longingly at his pasture mates.  I probably didn’t pick the best time for a schooling session on stair mastery!  But, we did 1 step up, and 1 step down, and crossed several stairs horizontally back & forth a few times, so I was happy with that.  Something to work on!  

Look!  Three feet on the bottom step!

Overall, we did 8 miles today, Rhio’s first in boots this spring.  The boots stayed in place, he had no rubs or marks from the gaitors, and had only 1 tiny interference mark on the back of his left hind fetlock.  It clearly had only been hit once, not repeatedly over the course of the ride, so I’m not going to worry about it.  Several years ago when I first rode him in boots, he interfered so badly that we came home from our first booted ride bloody on all four legs.  Granted, he was only wearing front boots today, but I was pleased anyway, as I hadn’t put any leg protection on for today’s ride (I’ll often use splint boots on him when he’s in the Easy Boots just to be safe).  If the weather forecast is right, I probably won’t get him out for a ride again until next week – it’s actually going to be a below average high (and 20+ degrees colder than today!) for the first time in March. 

(note: ride was Wednesday March 24)

 

Happy Birthday Cricket!

Yesterday Cricket turned 28!  To celebrate, he got a good pampering (well, I got as much mud & loose hair off as I could) and a whole bunch of baby carrots (they're easier to eat than big carrots when you're running low on molars).  I combed out his mane & sprayed some detangler/shine stuff on it (he probably hated that part) but quit before I got to his long, gorgeous tail to go ride with Jodi :)  We took her young mare Rana & an older Arab mare, Cameo, out for a spin because it was a lovely evening.  We saw plenty of deer and both mares did great.

A Bright, Sunshiny Day

Kristi riding Cricket

What a beautiful day!  We took an hour for a wander this afternoon, finally able to get around the gate into the county gravel pit.  Everyone had a grand time.  We had lots of mud & water, plus still some snow to negotiate, which was great practice for Tomas who is still fairly green on the trail.  

Rhio, Kelso & I are inside the gate already, discussing how best to get everyone else around the gate - snowbank on one side & a signpost on the other both threatening riders' knees

Christine & Tomas came through the snowbank - knocking it down a little more for an easy return trip

Not sure what he's looking at - this is on top of the small hill that I always have the horses climb when we're in the gravel pit (every little hill looks like extra conditioning to me!) 

Four Happy Faces

Yet another wonderously warm March day!  Christine & I took her kids Abigail & Carter out for a trail ride.  Abigail rode Cricket (and begged to go Western, even though the stirrups can't be shortened enough for her) and Carter rode the pony Mo. The kids groomed their own horses, but tacking & untacking fell to us "big kids" who can reach their backs and lift & carry the saddles.  Both kids did a great job piloting their mounts through the snow with smiles on their faces.  Even the horses were smiling, I think!

Abigail & Cricket

Carter & Mo

Abigail in the lead, with Christine & Carter hot on her heels

You can almost see all her missing teeth that grin is so wide!

Carter's big grin

Abigail & Cricket bringing up the rear - their favorite place to be

Rhio didn't much care for being made to hang back & go slow, but he did it. 

Just a little trotting to catch up